Kindred Spirits
by KhemRocks
Summary: Because sometimes you never really feel complete until you can look into someone’s eyes and see yourself reflected back. Fate brings two spirits with something far more profound in common than time or race together to find some answers. Hikaru no Go/YGO.
1. Prologue

**Kindred Spirits**

**Summary: **Because sometimes you never really feel complete until you can look into someone's eyes and see yourself reflected back. Fate brings two spirits with something far more profound in common than time or race together to find some answers. _Hikaru no Go_/_Yu-gi-oh! _post-series crossover. Eventual yaoi A/S.

**Disclaimer: **Shindou Hikaru, Fujiwara no Sai and others from _Hikaru no Go _property of Yumi Hotta, Takeshi Obata and affiliated. The pharaohs, Karim, Mahaad and others from _Yu-gi-oh! _property of Kazuki Takahashi and affiliated. If you're not sure if I made up a character or they exist in one of the series, please feel free to just message me and ask.

**Warnings: **Character death, discusses both series, spoilers from the start. Eventual yaoi, AxS, other pairings.

Before it all began….

_Breath coming in increasingly harsh gasps, riding as fast as he could, mind grounded only by the rhythmic pounding of the horses' hooves as they flew over stone and earth, reins gripped tightly in his fists, ignoring the throbbing pain in his arm-_

A depression such as he had never known before, so strong it was almost tangible, bowing his entire posture. So deep he felt as though he would never feel happy again, building an impenetrable wall around his soul that no thought of consolation or reassurance could break through…

-_reaching the accursed temple beneath the earth, dismounting his horse with some difficulty due to his wounds, descending the steps into darkness as if he was entering the _Duat_ itself, sighting the stone tablet with the impressions for the Items carved into it, forged by a power he had not realized or understood until recent days, striding to it, kneeling, such an uncharacteristic pose for a Pharaoh, a living god on earth- _

…he could almost feel the weight on his mind as he walked in a haze, leaving his beloved city, ruled by the Emperor, the man he had served, had taught, had played so many wonderful games with, the man who had banished him, wrongly accusing him of misdemeanour, irreparably tarnishing his reputation, forcing him to leave the place where he had known such happiness…

_-feeling the exhaustion seeping through his aching muscles, swiping one hand across his face where he could feel blood trickle, smearing once-pristine ripped and dirtied linen, turning his attention to the papyrus he had clutched the whole way here, placing it on the stone before him to once again glance over the contents, the ritual he had to perform if hope were to prevail at all, setting beside it one more thing he would need: a sharp copper blade-_

…finding himself at the banks of the river, wondering how his feet had followed his subconscious desire to come here, fooling himself into wondering why: to gaze at the waters to find peace? To be soothed by the rush of water over the stones? But no, now that he had no other options, now that they had been taken away from him, he had come here for a far more tragic purpose…

-_deciding that he was as ready as he ever would be, reminding himself that he had done what he could in the time allowed, that the message would be passed on down the generations until he could return and defeat the Great Darkness, as he hoped with every fibre of his being that he could accomplish someday. As he should have been able to do today, he seethed to himself, eyes squeezing shut, pain contorting his features, mind full of his fallen countrymen and loyal priests, a tear cutting its own trail through the dust on his cheek as it fell. But no, there was no time for that now, he would repay their sacrifice as much as he could, that was why he was here, stretching out on the stone, raising the copper blade to his own flesh, chanting the words that would do the deed, seeing the Millennium Pendant start to glow- _

…striding into the water, uncaring of the cold soaking his long white robes, the breeze making long black strands of hair dance across a face full of sadness, the water rising higher, the current stronger, but still going, as the water began to weigh him down…

_-yes, as the pain increased, deep chanting voice trembling slightly with the strain as he continued, this was what he was here to do, it would all be over soon-_

…it would be the end soon…

_-it would be the end soon…-_

Separated by thousands of miles and thousands of years, two young men thought these last thoughts, as death rushed to meet them in two different ways but just as tragically, just as surely. And just as a deep-voice finished chanting an ancient spell, blood flowing, allowing himself one last moment of weakness as the ritual reached its climax, one last scream he could not contain until he was no longer bound to his body, as the power swelled and exploded and ended, leaving only scorched stone, a golden Puzzle, and a silence as complete as that found at a river in a past Japan, where the water mingled with a still form crowned by strands of long black hair.

But all of that is now past: after two extraordinary existences, the rightful order has been seen to be restored, and the two former spirits, through friendship and games and battles, have finally moved onto the next plane of existence, the afterlife, and that is where our story begins…


	2. Chapter 1:Somewhere Else Entirely, Again

**Somewhere Else Entirely, Again**

Looking back, Fujiwara no Sai thought that he should have expected to end up where he did, though a good dose of temporary shock and denial had served to fend of this realization for at least a few moments when he had first opened his eyes on this plane of spectral existence. His first impression had been of that white light, the one that had filled his vision when he had first left Hikaru's side. This last thought brought a stab of heartsick pain (that he would not have expected, had he any time to really think about it, to be able to feel where he was), and he swiftly pushed it aside, subconsciously forcing his mind to remember the more practical aspects of his disappearance, in order to get a better idea of where he was now. All he could sense was that he was somewhere very different from Hikaru's bedroom, deep down that _he_ was something different, and his mind was scrambling for some logic, some scrap of information like a falling man would for a handhold. So, the light: it had intensified until it had filled his vision, growing almost as though it was replacing the whole world, from Hikaru opposite him right up to the Go board, carpet and finally the space in front of his face, until it was all he could see, all he could feel. But even back then, when it had first happened, even though he had been denying, fighting against the notion of him leaving the living world for days beforehand, in those last moments he knew better, the rational part of his mind that had served him well in so many games against countless opponents wouldn't allow himself to be fooled: it wasn't the world that was disappearing around him, it was _him_ disappearing from _it_.

He had only so much time to process these fleeting thoughts before the light reached blinding in intensity (but did he have physical eyes to know this, here? Was it some form of mental trick instead? Was he the same kind of spirit as before?)…before fading away completely. Sai hesitated before instinct forced him to open his eyes.

At first, Sai found it hard to distinguish between the white light he had just experienced, and he blinked a few times to assure himself that his eyes were indeed open. Then he realized that he was standing, as opposed to sitting as he had been before, that this light flickered with every colour he had seen before and even some he hadn't, and seemed to tingle in the air as if it was actually made of pure energy. It was surely like no other place he had ever found himself, at any stage of his extraordinary existence. He was certainly not in the realm he had known. "The afterlife," he heard himself murmur, stunned.

_THAT IS CORRECT_, said a voice. Well, "said," was perhaps not the right term: the words, spoken in a unearthly timbre that was not distinguishable as either male or female, seemed to both be heard around him, as though they had been created by the very air, and simultaneously be in his head, as though they had bypassed his ears to arrive directly into his mind. It was both similar and yet very different from the mind link he had shared with Hikaru and Torajirou: with that he had known where the thoughts were coming from, could often match them to their expressions, yet this voice simply _was _in a phenomenon that was as unusual and unexplainable as everything else he had seen and experienced since arriving in this strange place. Before these thoughts could weight too heavily on him, however, the words arrived again:

_WE WELCOME THE REIKON OF FUJIWARA NO SAI, WHO HAS APPEARED IN THIS REALM AT LAST._

_They must be a kind of "powers that be"_,thought Sai. It was odd, as he found himself in a place very much unlike that which he remembered had been described to him as he was growing up about what he would experience at his death, but the words and the sensations they brought, coupled with his surroundings, evoked every thought he had ever had of a greater power, of fate, of the judger of souls. Whether this was the way it always was, or was different to him due to his exceptional circumstances, eluded him for now. He had more pressing matters to attend to. As surely as he had the first time he had met his death, he implored "I have truly passed on? Send me back!"

_THAT IS NOT WITHIN OUR POWER NOR OUR DESIRE_, came the immediate reply. _YOUR OWN LIFE WAS ENDED, AND YOUR SOUL, YOUR REIKON, WAS TRANSFORMED INTO A YUREI BY YOUR UNFULFILLED DESIRES TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL, AND WAS THEN TWINNED WITH TWO OTHERS. AN UNNATURAL SITUATION, BUT FATED NONETHELESS._

"But if I was fated to live on, why can't you let me do so again? Please, my only desire is to play more Go, to play the Divine Move!"

_YOU MISUNDERSTAND US. THESE EVENTS HAVE OCCURRED AND HAVE NOW ENDED. WE ALLOWED THESE EVENTS TO PASS AND NOW THEY HAVE COME TO A CLOSE. WE FIND LITTLE SIN IN YOU, AND YOU HAVE BEEN ALLOWED ENTRANCE TO THE HEAVENLY REALMS. YOU WILL BE INSTRUCTED AS TO HOW TO ADJUST TO YOUR NEW EXISTENCE._

"But I don't understand! Please, let me go back!"

When the words appeared in his head again, they were in a slightly different tone than they had been before, a subtle swelling of power and unquestionable authority. Sai was filled with the sensation that he crossed a line that he definitely shouldn't have.

_YOUR LIFE WAS EXTENDED BEYOND ITS NATURAL LIMITS, AND NOW THE TIME HAS COME FOR THAT TO END. YET…WE STILL SENSE QUESTION AND UNCERTAINTY WITHIN YOU. THIS IS NOT FITTING FOR A CROSSED OVER SOUL. YOUR SOUL MUST BE RETURNED TO BALANCE. YOU MUST SEEK THIS BALANCE, REIKON OF FUJIWARA NO SAI…_

The voice faded away to nothingness as surely as Sai's surroundings, and ultimately his consciousness.

When he next returned to awareness, his surroundings were far more familiar, or at least far closer to what he was used to: the dwellings and environment that surrounded him recalled a peaceful day back in "ancient" Japan, but with one general difference: The world, if that was what it was, around Sai was…he supposed the only word for it that came to mind was _vibrant. _He supposed if his mind needed any more proof that he was somewhere entirely different than where he had been before, it was this: his surroundings, apart from the expected change in scenery, appeared to Sai, with his greater sense of such spiritual matters, vibrant as if a kind of energy infused its very colours in a way that he knew could not be blamed on his eyes. All of this told him that he was in a kind of "afterlife version" of Japan, rather than the one he had left before the white light had consumed him. Still, he was slightly comforted to finally find himself in surroundings that were at least similar to those he had grown up in, or even from later on, when he had been with Torajirou.

And speaking of…

A young man stood a few feet in front of him, a calm and happy expression on a face Sai had longed to see for so many years… "Torajirou…"

It didn't take long for either of the two men to cross the distance between them, and Sai nearly crushed the other in his embrace, the wide sleeves of his long white robes wrapping around him, feeling as though a part of his heart had finally been healed.

**A/N: **Hard to tell, being all in capitals, without the accents and written "in English," but in Japanese mythology the 霊魂 (reikon) was basically a person's spirit/soul, and a yūrei is what a person's reikon is tranformed into, as a kind of ghost, through strong emotion/unfinished business/lack of proper funerary rites etc. This is my understanding anyway, and I would be grateful to recive coreection if any readers know any more about it.


End file.
